My son Levon was found'; Child's body removed from Mohawk River

Ever since 9-month-old Levon Wameling vanished more than three months ago in Utica, his father has said he had no idea what happened. But after Levon’s father, Jevon Wameling, was arrested on burglary charges by state police Thursday, something happened to give Utica po...

Ever since 9-month-old Levon Wameling vanished more than three months ago, his father has said he had no idea what happened.

But after Levon’s father, Jevon Wameling, was arrested on burglary charges by state police Thursday, something happened to give Utica police the break that they – and Levon’s mother – had been hoping for.

By the next morning, state police divers recovered from the murky waters of the Mohawk River in North Utica a container with what appears to be an infant’s remains inside, police said.

Police are awaiting an autopsy to confirm whether the body is Levon, but a Facebook post by the baby’s mother, Amy Warney, suggested that she already knows the truth.

“Well everyone my son Levon was found in the water. I can do this,” Warney's post read shortly before police announced their findings Friday afternoon.

In a later post, she said, “Now I can put u to rest my love. This is not easy I feel empty in side y did this happin I love u so much babyboy mommy loves u.”

This latest development came nearly a week after Levon’s mother celebrated, with a balloon release and a park picnic, what would have been the boy’s first birthday last Saturday, Aug. 31.

During a news conference outside the Utica Police Station, police Chief Mark Williams did not reveal too many details. He declined to say what type of container the remains were in, where they were found in the water and whether anything had been done to keep the container submerged.

Williams also could not say whether it will be possible to determine how the baby died.

While the circumstances surrounding this baby’s death remain a mystery, Williams vowed to hold accountable whoever is responsible. But in terms of any possible charges, Williams expressed uncertainty.

“I can’t give you a timeframe for when charges may or may not even be filed. I don't know,” Williams said. “There’s a lot of work that still needs to be done on our end. This is still a very active investigation. I’m hopeful at the very least, that once we identify those remains that, first and foremost, we can bring closure to the family.”

In the meantime, Wameling remains in Oneida County jail on $10,000 cash bail or $25,000 bond after he was charged Thursday with entering the home of a family member in Oriskany last month to steal jewelry and money.

Levon’s mother was not at the news conference, but she did silently leave the police station shortly after with several people at her side. Utica Mayor Robert Palmieri then took a moment to comfort Warney with a hug in the parking lot.

Page 2 of 2 - If the remains are confirmed to be Levon, Williams and Palmieri offered their condolences to Levon’s family with hopes that this development will bring them closure.

Police already had conducted several land searches in the weeks after Wameling first told police June 11 that he hadn’t seen Levon since May 29. Wameling said the boy vanished after he was left briefly unattended on the front porch of Wameling’s apartment at 748 Jay St., but he never gave a credible explanation for why he waited two weeks to report the missing boy.

Police searched wooded areas along secluded Barnes Avenue and near the Marcy home of Wameling’s mother and stepfather. They also spent some time at the Ava landfill in northern Oneida County and searched an area along Leland Avenue, but it’s unclear if that was the same area where the remains were found Friday.

Williams would not disclose if Wameling told police about the whereabouts of his baby.

But Anna Knopka of Frankfort, who helped with the Aug. 31 party for Levon, said that she had a five-minute conversation with Levon’s mother Thursday night that might shed light on why police conducted a search Friday morning.

“She told me that Jevon confessed to police that the baby died in his sleep and he buried him somewhere,” Knopka said. But when Knopka asked if Wameling had said where Levon was buried, Warney said that she didn’t know.

Because Knopka — who owns I-KAN-C-U-Images screen printing and vinyl cutting in Frankfort — had only met Warney fewer than two weeks ago when she was asked to help with the party, Knopka said she doesn’t understand why Warney felt the need to immediately tell her about Wameling’s alleged confession.

The conversation then turned to Levon’s birthday celebration at which Knopka had sold T-shirts and balloons. When Knopka said she had checks written for the $245 raised at the party that were going to be sent to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, that’s when the conversation quickly ended.

Utica police officials would not comment on Knopka’s conversation or what Warney reportedly told her about Wameling.